RELIABILITY
AND SUITABILITY
SCREENING
External candidates
You plan to perform work for the police. But before you can
start, you must undergo a Reliability and Suitability Screening. This brochure provides information about the screening.
Why is screening necessary?
Reliability and integrity are of the utmost importance for a police organization. Society
must be able to trust in the integrity of the police. And the reliability of individuals
working for the police has to meet stringent requirements. To this end, various measures
have been put in place, including a screening system.
The aim of the screening is to assess whether there are sufficient assurances of your
reliability and suitability in respect of the work to be performed.
The Security, Integrity and Complaints department (Veiligheid, Integriteit en Klachten,
or VIK) carries out the screening in accordance with the 2014 Police Reliability and
Suitability Protocol. You can request a copy of the protocol through your contact. Once
the screening is completed, the head of Security, Integrity and Complaints will send the
results to the party that requested the screening.
How is the screening carried out?
There are two types of screening: the short form and the long form screening.
A long form screening consists at most of:
a. completing the Personal Details form;
b. requesting a credit report from the Dutch Credit Registration Office
(Bureau Krediet Registratie, or BKR);
c. consulting personal details within the meaning of the Police Data Act and the
Judicial Data and Criminal Records Act, and consulting information from publicly
available sources;
d. gathering information from people named as references;
e. having an interview with a screening officer.
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A short form screening consists at least of a) and c).
The decision of whether you will be subjected to a long or short form screening depends
in part on the work you are to do, its duration, the confidential nature of the working
environment, and the work’s associated risk of damage to the police’s performance of
duties or public image. The greater the risk, the more comprehensive the screening. The
form that is sent to you specifies the type of screening that applies in your case.
The procedure is as follows:
• Completing the Personal Details form
A screening requires information. That is why you must to complete a Personal
Details form fully and truthfully and add the required enclosures. Omitting facts or
providing false information may lead to a negative opinion.
• Requesting a report of your data registered at the Dutch Credit
Registration Office
One objective of the screening is to determine whether your financial situation
might entail a security risk or otherwise harm the police.
For this reason, you are asked to enclose a credit report to the completed Personal
Details form. The report must be original and no older than two months. You can
request such a report from any bank in the Netherlands or from the Dutch Credit
Registration Office (Bureau Krediet Registratie, or BKR) in Tiel, the Netherlands. For
more information, please go to www.bkr.nl.
• Subm itting the documents
The completed Personal Details form, along with the further documentation required (such as your credit report) must be sent to Security, Integrity and Complaints.
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• Consulting details
Security, Integrity and Complaints will then check whether you have been in trouble
with the law on account of minor or serious offences, as well as for other behavior
that conflicts with the police’s norms and standards. The screening officer will consult the following sources for this purpose:
- criminal records;
- police data;
- open sources.
• Interview
A screening officer will make an appointment with you for an interview to be conducted at your home, due to its confidential nature. The aim of the interview is to
obtain an accurate picture of you, your personal situation and any vulnerabilities and
risks.
The interview will be focused on personal details, family and other relationships,
your past, educational and employment history, diplomas, travels, contacts, memberships and your financial situation. If necessary, the screening officer will explain the
relevance of the questions.
In addition to the interview, the screening officer will also contact one or more of
the persons you have provided as references. References should be people who are
able to provide a good sense of who you are.
The contents of the interviews will be treated strictly confidentially and will only be
used for the purposes of the screening.
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Results
Once the screening has been completed, the Head of Security, Integrity and Complaints
will provide an opinion to the party who requested the screening. You will be notified of
the results as soon as possible, in writing or by other means.
A positive opinion will be given if the information gathered gives no rise to objections
against you performing tasks for the police.
A negative opinion will be given if the information gathered does give rise to objections
against you performing tasks for the police. The letter will explain why there are objections, and you will be advised of the possibility to express your viewpoint on the opinion
within two weeks of receipt. You will be allowed to inspect the opinion on request, if
no one objects to you doing so. After the assessment of any viewpoint you may have
submitted, you will be informed of the final decision as soon as possible. If applicable,
the party requesting the screening will notify your employer that you are not allowed to
carry out the work concerned, without stating the reason for it.
How long does the screening take?
After receipt of the fully completed Personal Details form with the relevant enclosures,
the Security, Integrity and Complaints Department will perform the screening within six
weeks. If the screening cannot be completed within this period, you will be notified.
What will be done with your screening details?
The screening information will be treated confidentially and will be stored in accordance
with the Personal Data Protection Act.
More information?
For further information, please go to www.politie.nl. If, after reading that information
or this brochure, you still have questions, please consult your contact.
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14007-1E
www.politie.nl